A number of reports Wednesday indicate that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is preparing to meet with former President Donald Trump and hold a press conference on "election integrity."
Johnson, according to CNN's Melanie Zanona, will hold the press conference on Friday. However, on Tuesday it was reported by The Washington Times that Johnson was poised to vote against the government needing a warrant for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
By Wednesday, the House voted 193 to 226 not to reauthorize FISA. Democrats made up the majority of votes against the measure as well as a loose cohort of the Freedom Caucus, consisting of Florida Reps. Matt Gaetz, Greg Steube, and others.
But at around 1 a.m. EST, hours before the vote on FISA kicked off, Trump posted on Truth Social, writing, "KILL FISA, IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!"
During the 2016 campaign season, the FBI pressured FISA courts so they could spy on the Trump campaign.
On Wednesday, Johnson said, according to The Washington Times, "I look forward to talking with" Trump "about" reauthorizing FISA.
"Here's the thing about FISA, he's not wrong. Of course, they abused FISA, the whole Carter Page investigation, that whole fiasco was built on a false premise — the fake Russian dossier and all the other things. But these reforms would actually kill the abuses that allow President Trump's campaign to be spied on."
In his statement to reporters, Johnson encouraged the notion that this time around, the new FISA reforms would prevent any abuses of the program by federal agencies.
"If an FBI agent or an attorney," the speaker said, "is involved in something like that, under these reforms in this reform package, they could get 10 years of jail time if they commit those abuses again. President Trump can use the intel from this program to kill terrorists. And we have to kill the abuses so that we can do both of those things."
Johnson is facing backlash from a number of Republicans who are seeking his ouster, the most vocal of which include Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Greene told reporters on Wednesday that a motion to vacate Johnson as speaker depends on how he handles FISA and aid to Ukraine.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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